Grindr to pay £26m to settle UK claims it shared users' HIV status

September 7, 2026 at 08:27 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Grindr has agreed to pay £26 million to settle a UK class action lawsuit alleging it shared users' sensitive data, including HIV status, with third parties. The settlement, disclosed in a US regulatory filing, involves two £13 million payments and no admission of liability. The claims relate to data practices before 2020, when the app was owned by Chinese firm Kunlun.

Key Facts

Grindr will make two £13 million payments to settle the claims, with the first due by 31 December and the second by 31 March 2027.
The class action, filed in the UK High Court in 2024 and later served in the US, has signed up more than 11,000 claimants.
The lawsuit alleged Grindr shared sensitive data, including ethnicity, sexual orientation, and HIV status, with third parties such as Apptimize and Localytics for commercial purposes.
Grindr stated the settlement includes no admission of liability and that the claims relate to 'historical data practices' before 2020.
The company said it stopped sharing HIV data with the two analytics providers after 2018 revelations and has since overhauled its privacy practices.

Settlement Terms

Grindr agreed to pay £26 million to settle the lawsuit, according to a US regulatory filing. The payment will be split into two £13 million installments, with the first due by 31 December and the second by 31 March 2027. The company said the settlement includes no admission of liability. Grindr acknowledged 'the distress and loss of trust expressed by some of its UK users regarding that pre-2020 period.'

Allegations and Data Sharing

The class action, led by law firm Austen Hayes, alleged Grindr shared sensitive data with third parties for commercial purposes, breaching UK privacy laws. The shared information included users' ethnicity, sexual orientation, and HIV status, according to the claim. Two data analytics services, Apptimize and Localytics, were identified as third parties with access to the sensitive data. The claim followed 2018 revelations that Grindr had been sharing personal data, including HIV status, with the two providers. Grindr defended the practice at the time as in line with industry standards but said it later stopped sharing HIV data with those companies.

Company Response

Grindr said the claims relate to 'historical data practices' before 2020, when it was owned by Chinese firm Kunlun. The company stated that since 2020 it has 'overhauled' its privacy practices to meet the 'unique needs of its community.' Grindr said it 'is and remains a safe space for users, committed to transparency, user control, and responsible data practices.' Chaya Hanoomanjee, the lawyer who led the claim, said in April 2024 that claimants had 'experienced significant distress' over their information being shared without consent.